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Tuesday, June 27th, 2017
Hooker Furniture Living Room Pinta Trail Strong Box Cocktail Table
Throughout furniture-making history, furniture pieces evolved just as societies grew and also developed. Of course, people had access to different materials as time moved forward. To determine fine woodworking history, you have to learn the categories as to where each wood furniture belongs to.
The first category is by species and the more renowned way of categorizing furniture periods is by century where multiple centuries sometimes comprise a design theme.
For today, though, you will learn about the species-based categorization.
The Oak Period
The age of oak comprises the pieces that were crafted during the British Tudor monarch reigns. Think of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, etc.
Oak was the leading species of wood that was used during this period. Just like other period designs, there isn’t any clear beginning as well as an end. One could deduce, though, that it span a period of about 160 years with about 1,500 characteristics seen.
The Oak Period also retained much of the Gothic era. Just look at the carvings on panels and the frames and you would know that Gothic still has much influence over this style. Pierced carving became less popular, though.
The furniture pieces during this period were massive and sturdy. Many ordered four poster beds, heavy, rectangular tables and chairs with stout legs. Benches for general uses were also a popular item.
The 17th century, also called the Jacobean period, happened around 1603 as James I became the ruling monarch. Elizabethan oak gave way to the less ornamented pieces. Table legs became straighter and lost the bulky turnings. The profiles became lower and a tad more rectangular.
The Jacobean furniture pieces during Cromwell the Protector’s time were square, frugal and stern. With the monarchy returned to Charles II, once more, the Carolean furniture paved the way for a more ornate design.
The Walnut Period
This term does not describe any particular furniture style. This period is roughly dated 1600-1730. A probable reason behind the birth of walnut furniture making is the improvement in sawing. During this time, furniture makers were able to saw thinner than an inch, hence, more and more of them employed these planks in their works of art.
It was also during this time that carved surfaces decreased in number because a new technique has emerged. Thanks to the use of walnut inlaid as well as the veneered walnut upon oak.
The Mahogany and Satinwood Period
The Mahogany Age dominated mid-18th century. During that time, furniture styles became a lot simpler. People were slowly veering away from ornamented pieces as elegance is expressed in finer, flowing lines.
Later, the pieces became more fretted, heavily carved, and the cabriole leg emerged. At first, it was too plain with the pad foot but it developed into something that has a bit of carving, hairy paw, ball-and-claw or the lion’s feet.
The Satinwood age still saw the popularity of mahogany though the Adams brothers popularized the less curvilinear pieces.
Camden Collection’s Brookston Cal King Bed
18th to 19th Century
Speaking in terms of 18th century furniture means Chippendale, Georgian, Queen Anne, French, Regency, Sheraton, etc. Whether you’re thinking about British, American or French, commercialism has emerged and mass-produced pieces were welcomed in the market.
The cabinetmakers became the rock stars of this furniture era.
During the 19th century, all people could think about is the Industrial Revolution. Society changed and so did the furniture makers. The individual craftsman has vanished and the mass-producing manufacturers have emerged.
Revival styles were already a lot easier to make.
The 20th Century
This comprises many furniture and wood styles. Included are Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Modern and Post-modern styles, to name a few. During this era, more materials have emerged, paving the way for more diverse furniture styles.
Tags: furniture era, furniture eras, furniture periods, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, wood furniture, wood furniture pieces
Posted in Furniture, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements | Comments Off on Furniture Periods According to Wood Types and Eras
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